By the end of this lesson you will be able to
- Open the Software Updater, read what it offers and install updates at a sensible time.
- Explain why some updates need a restart and restart without losing work.
- Take a screenshot of the whole screen, a window or an area, and find the saved file.
- Plug in a USB drive, see it in Files and eject it safely before unplugging.
- Recognise a genuine permission prompt and say when it is wrong to type a password.
Three small habits keep an Ubuntu laptop healthy and useful: installing updates, being able to capture what is on your screen, and moving files on a USB drive without damaging them. Updates close security holes, screenshots let you show someone exactly what you see when something goes wrong, and a safely ejected USB drive keeps your files intact. None of them is difficult, but each has one detail that beginners often miss.
Why updates matter
Programs are written by people, and people leave mistakes. Some mistakes are only annoying. Others are weaknesses that criminals can use to get into a computer. Makers of software find these weaknesses and publish fixes. A security patch is one of those fixes, and an update is the package that delivers it, along with other improvements. Installing updates is like repairing a lock after the shop has told you that thieves know how to open it.
Ubuntu checks for updates by itself, usually every day, when you are online. If it finds any, it shows a notification or opens a window called the Software Updater. You do not have to hunt for updates, but you do have to say yes to them.
- Step 1: Fix publishedMakers repair a weakness
- Step 2: Ubuntu checksOfficial sources, when online
- Step 3: You are toldSoftware Updater opens
- Step 4: You installPassword may be asked
- Step 5: Restart if askedFix fully active
Read this figure as text
A flow from a fix being published, to Ubuntu noticing it, to you installing it, to a restart if needed.
Step 1: the makers publish a fix to a weakness. Step 2: Ubuntu checks the official software sources when you are online and notices that updates are waiting. Step 3: the Software Updater tells you, and you choose to install. Step 4: Ubuntu downloads and installs the updates, which may ask for your password. Step 5: if a core part of the system changed, Ubuntu asks you to restart, and the fix is fully active after the restart.
Using the Software Updater
You can open the Software Updater on purpose. Press the Super key, type “Software Updater” and press Enter. It first checks for updates, then lists what is available. Ubuntu 24.04 also shows updates inside the App Center (look for Updates in its sidebar), and the exact screens differ between releases. Use whichever one your laptop offers. The idea is the same: read, then install.
Software updates are available for this computer.
Do you want to install them now?
- Marker 1: The message: updates are waiting
- Marker 2: The list of what will change
- Marker 3: Settings: how often to check
- Marker 4: Install Now
Read this figure as text
A simulated update window with a message, a list of updates, a Settings button and an Install Now button.
A simulated update window, drawn as an illustration and not a real screenshot; real windows look different between Ubuntu releases. Marker 1 is the heading message, saying that software updates are available for this computer. Marker 2 is the list of updates with their sizes, for example security updates for the system and for the web browser. Marker 3 is a Settings button, which lets you choose how often Ubuntu checks. Marker 4 is the Install Now button, which starts installing all the updates.
Install updates
Step 1: Save your work first
Save and close documents. Updates sometimes close apps, and a restart closes everything.
You should see: Nothing important is left unsaved.
Step 2: Open the updater
Press Super, type
Software Updaterand press Enter.You should see: A window checks for updates, then lists them or says that the software is up to date.
Step 3: Press Install Now
Read the list, then click Install Now. If a box asks for your password, this is a genuine prompt because you just started the task. Type your own Ubuntu login password and press Enter.
You should see: A progress bar shows the downloading and installing. Do not switch off the laptop while it runs.
Step 4: Restart if asked
If the window says that a restart is required, click Restart Now when you are ready. You may also choose Restart Later, but do restart soon.
You should see: After the restart the laptop starts again and the update notice has gone.
Why a restart is sometimes needed
Most updates replace files that are not currently in use, so they take effect immediately. But the Kernel, the core of the operating system, is running all the time and cannot be swapped while it is in use. After a kernel update, the old version is still in memory until you restart. Until then your laptop works, but it is not yet using the fix. That is why Ubuntu keeps reminding you.
A good rule: install updates when you have a few spare minutes, restart the same day, and do not leave a restart waiting for weeks.
Taking screenshots
A Screenshot is a picture of what is on your screen. It is the best way to show a helper an error message exactly as you see it, or to save a recipe, ticket or map. On Ubuntu you can take one in two ways: with the keyboard, or with the Screenshot tool.
Find the PrtSc key on the keyboard (it may be written Print Screen or PrtScn). On current Ubuntu releases, pressing it opens the Screenshot tool, which has choices for Selection (drag a box around an area), Screen (everything) and Window (one chosen window), and a round button to take the shot. Older releases take a full-screen picture at once, and other key combinations such as Alt+PrtSc for the current window exist. If your key does nothing, press Super and search for “Screenshot” to open the same tool.
Mode: [ Selection ] [ Screen ] [ Window ]
Saved to: Pictures / Screenshots
[ Capture ]
- Marker 1: Choose what to capture
- Marker 2: Where the picture is saved
- Marker 3: Capture button
Read this figure as text
A simulated screenshot toolbar with Selection, Screen and Window choices, a capture button and a note about where files are saved.
A simulated toolbar, not a real screenshot. Marker 1 is the three mode buttons: Selection to drag a box, Screen for the whole screen and Window for one window. Marker 2 is a note that the picture is saved in the Screenshots folder inside Pictures, and a copy is also placed on the clipboard so you can paste it into a document. Marker 3 is the Capture button.
Screenshots are saved as image files in the Screenshots folder inside your Pictures folder, named with the date and time. They are also placed on the clipboard, so you can paste one straight into a document or an email with Ctrl+V.
USB drives: plugging in and ejecting
A USB drive, also called a flash drive or memory stick, is a small portable storage device. Push it into a USB port. Ubuntu usually notices it within a few seconds and shows it in the Files sidebar, under your places, with the drive's name. Click that name to see the files on it. You can copy files to and from the drive the same way you copy between folders.
Before you unplug it, you must eject it. When you copy a file, Ubuntu may keep some data waiting in memory and write it to the drive a little later, because writing to a drive is slow. Ejecting tells Ubuntu to finish writing everything and to stop using the drive. Pulling the drive out without ejecting can cut a copy in half and damage the files or the drive's file system.
Use a USB drive safely
Step 1: Plug the drive in
Push it gently into a USB port. It fits only one way round.
You should see: A new item with the drive's name appears in the Files sidebar. A notification may appear too.
Step 2: Open the drive
Click its name in the sidebar and look at its files. To copy, drag a file between the drive and a folder in another Files window, or right-click, choose Copy, then Paste in the other place.
You should see: The copied file appears in the destination. Large files show a progress indicator.
Step 3: Eject it
Click the small eject symbol beside the drive's name in the sidebar, or right-click the drive and choose Eject.
You should see: The drive disappears from the sidebar. Some drives have a light that stops flashing.
Step 4: Unplug the drive
Only now pull it straight out of the port.
You should see: No error message appears.
- Is a copy or save to the drive still running?
- YesDo thisLet the progress bar finish, then go on to eject.
- NoClick Eject beside the drive. Did the drive disappear from the sidebar?
- YesDo thisYou can unplug the drive now.
- NoDo thisClose any file or folder from the drive that is open, wait a few seconds and eject again. Do not pull it out.
Read this figure as text
A decision chart asking whether a copy has finished and whether the drive was ejected before unplugging.
Start: do you want to unplug the drive? First check whether any copy or save is still running. If one is running, wait until it finishes. If nothing is running, click Eject beside the drive's name in the Files sidebar. If the drive disappears from the sidebar, it is safe to unplug. If Ubuntu says the drive is busy, close any file or folder from the drive that is still open, and try Eject again.
Permission prompts and drive formats
When Ubuntu needs your approval to do something that affects the whole computer, such as installing updates, it shows a small window asking for your password. This is a protective feature: it stops a program from changing the system silently. A genuine prompt appears right after you asked for the change. It names the task and asks for your own login password.
Sometimes a USB drive opens but you cannot save to it, or a message says you do not have permission. Possible reasons: the drive is locked by a small switch on its side (rare), the drive was prepared in a way that only gives read access, or the drive's file system is not one Ubuntu can write to. Drives prepared as exFAT work on both Ubuntu and Windows. Formatting a drive erases everything on it, so never format one that holds files you need. A later lesson covers formatting carefully.
Common mistakes
✖ Instead of: Postponing the restart for weeks because the laptop seems fine.
✔ Do this: Restart the same day or the next. Until then, the security fix may not be active.
✖ Instead of: Pulling out a USB drive as soon as the copy bar disappears.
✔ Do this: Eject first. Ejecting guarantees that all data has been written.
✖ Instead of: Sending a screenshot without looking at it.
✔ Do this: Check it for private details such as names, emails or numbers, and crop or retake it if needed.
✖ Instead of: Switching off the laptop during an update because it takes a long time.
✔ Do this: Wait. Interrupting can leave programs half installed. Keep the charger plugged in.
If something goes wrong
- The Software Updater says it cannot check for updates.
- Check your internet connection in the system menu. If you are online, wait a few minutes and try again, because the update servers may be busy.
- PrtSc does nothing.
- Some laptops need the Fn key held with PrtSc. Otherwise press Super and search for “Screenshot” to open the tool and use its Capture button.
- The USB drive does not appear in Files.
- Unplug it and plug it into another port. Check the drive on another computer to see whether it works. Some drives need a few seconds to be recognised.
- Eject says the drive is busy.
- Close any file, folder or program that uses the drive, wait a few seconds, and eject again. Do not pull the drive out.
Key terms
- Operating system update
- A download that fixes problems and security holes in the main software of your computer.
- Security patch
- A small update that fixes a weakness attackers could use to break into your computer.
- Screenshot
- A picture of what is showing on your screen.
- USB
- A common kind of socket and cable for connecting devices such as drives, keyboards and phones.
- Kernel
- The core part of an operating system that manages the hardware and runs everything else.
- Formatting
- Preparing a drive with a file system, which erases everything that was on it.
Practise it for real
Reading is not the same as being able to do it. Complete these on your own computer, then tick only what you have actually done. These ticks are your own honest record: nothing checks them for you.
Check for updates and take screenshots
Open the Software Updater from the Super-key search and read its message without installing anything unless you are ready and have saved your work. Then press PrtSc (or open the Screenshot tool from search) and take three screenshots: the whole screen, one window, and a chosen area. Open Files, go to Pictures and then the Screenshots folder, and look at the three files.
Challenge: copy a file to a USB drive and eject it
Use a USB drive that holds nothing you need. In your Practice folder (see the Files lesson), create or choose a small text file. Plug in the drive, copy the file onto it, then open the drive and check that the file is there. Eject the drive from the Files sidebar and unplug it. Plug it in again, and check that the file is still present. If you do not have a USB drive, write down the steps in order from memory instead.
Knowledge check
6 questions. You need 80% to pass. Mistakes here are part of learning, and you can retry as often as you like.
Summary
- Updates carry security patches; install them regularly after saving your work.
- A restart is needed when a core part such as the kernel changed; do it soon.
- PrtSc or the Screenshot tool captures the screen, a window or an area into Pictures, Screenshots.
- Always eject a USB drive before unplugging it, so every file is fully written.
- Type your password only into prompts that follow something you started.
Checklist: can you do these?
Marking a lesson as read does not prove you can do it. Skills count as demonstrated when you pass the quiz (not yet) and complete the practical tasks (not yet).
Related lessons
References and further reading
Official sources for details that can change between versions.